Health+Harvest

The Biden administration has asked Congress to allocate $22.5 billion more for pandemic relief. But the funding is stalled and the effects are already being felt.

The Illinois Department of Public Health said Wednesday it will not renew its lucrative COVID testing contract with Reditus Labs.

What started as a routine executive appointment changed into a monumental leadership opportunity with the arrival of COVID-19.

Mike Clark is the founder of Ecofluent in Springfield, Ill. His organization works to promote sustainable agriculture and provide a food source for those facing food insecurity. The organization has planted approximately 200 trees in the Springfield neighborhoods which historically struggle financially. He spoke to Community Voices about how planting sites are selected and plans to expand in the future.

The battle over masking in schools is far from over. The hotly contested issue is now shifting to the state’s largest district — Chicago Public Schools, which remains the largest of only a handful of districts still requiring masks. Illinois lifted its mask mandate for schools on Monday, and most districts throughout Illinois have already pivoted to mask-optional policies.

Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike will resign on March 14 after three years leading the agency and two years navigating a deadly pandemic that has claimed the lives of more than 32,000 Illinoisans.

The Illinois Stewardship Alliance (ISA) is a non-profit that works to find, connect, train and amplify the leadership of farmers and eaters who use their choices and their voices to shape a more just and regenerative local food and farm system. Communications Director Molly Pickering spoke to Community Voices about the organization and how policy helps bring about the changes ISA hopes to see in agriculture.Originally aired January 10, 2022.

Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday evening announced an end to the state’s school mask mandate shortly after the Illinois Supreme Court denied his appeal seeking the justices overturn a Sangamon County judge’s decision earlier this month that sought to halt the governor’s executive orders requiring masking in school settings.

In Missouri, the average winter temperature is about 4 degrees warmer than it was in 1970. That’s also true for Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa, and farmers are starting to feel the effects.

In a blow to Gov. JB Pritzker’s school mask mandate, an appellate court dismissed an appeal of a hold on COVID measures in about 170 districts.